caulfield12

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 12:01 PM) AJ was an objectively poor thrower. Flowers played with the same pitchers in the same year and performed better. Of course we'll still be run on -- nobody's saying he's Ivan Rodriguez -- but the runners will be thrown out at a higher clip. I know you miss AJ, but it doesn't do any good to pretend he was a decent defender. He blocked balls really well for several years, but there is absolutely no case to be made for him being a good CS man. Last year especially, he was terrible and fell into lazy/bad habits with blocking pitches. Part of it was just poor technique. I'd swear it cost us at least a couple of games, although obviously the offense made up for it, overall.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 12:54 PM) I heard it was a visual kid movie with no plot. Well, all fairy tales have essentially the same plot, do they not? Good vs. Evil, finding courage previously lacking, etc. Certainly, it's not a great film, but it was better than I expected...and better than Alice in Wonderland, which was hugely disappointing to me.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 12:45 PM) Is this a serious question? John Danks WAR 2007-2012 = 18.1 Brandon McCarthy WAR 2007-2012 = 6.4 NOPE.

Even though it's not going to make as much bank worldwide, in the end, Oz: The Great and Powerful is better than Alice in Wonderland. Franco's on quite a roll again now. And Michelle Williams just improves with age. When she was on Dawson's Creek, I hated her. Never would have seen it coming that she would end up the best performer of all from that show in the end.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 12:14 PM) LOL I like how you answered that seriously No more seriously than the Ultimate Champion's last line, lol.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 10:54 AM) I agree but it was because of personnel moves. The Orioles and Indians both got rid of household names that the fans loved. Cleveland inherited a ton of talent with those deals and almost went to World Series because of it. Baltimore has one of the worst owners in the game. They drafted horribly and didn't spend in FA. Your points are well taken. The Cubs have not been trading away household names and fan favorites because there weren't any. They depended on free agency for so long. If the Cubs end up in a 10 year rut of minimal playoff appearances and bad records like Cleveland and Baltimore then it will be just another case in which it happened. I think they will have talent though. If Cleveland or Baltimore would have made better decisions and somehow competed, the fans would have been right back in the seats. This year should be telling for Cleveland. They are better. They made free agent additions. They may still be 4th in the division but they went out and signed players. Players also did not want to sign with the Orioles. They still don't. Players will always want to come to Chicago. The Indians actually succeeded in rebuilding once, but then gave up against after 2007...which really demoralized the fanbase and which they haven't recovered from as of yet, although they're fairly optimistic coming into 2013 for the first time in half a decade. A team with a very successful record and fanbase that has gone into the rebuilding and still hasn't come out the other side is SEA. Toronto's performance in 2013 will be another example of seeing if a team's fans will return when the team has largely been abandoned or given up on. And, on the other hand, teams like Colorado, Milwaukee (the new park helped tremendously, and the connection to the Commissioner) and Atlanta were able to become contenders and bounce back after being down for different reasons...the Rockies and Braves, like the Sox/Indians/Royals, have fanbases that are oriented more around winning than marketing and iconic stadium appeal.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 10:36 AM) I watched the fighter again last night. That movie is just fantastic to me. Even down to Mark Wahlberg's exact duplication of Ward's in the ring mannerisms. In the same genre, Never Back Down and The Warrior are also a lot better than you'd think... And Cinderella Man.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 09:53 AM) I'm still wondering why we traded proven workhorse Brandon McCarthy to Texas. Has anyone been able to come up with a reason by now? Maybe he would have blocked man-child Juan Silverio after we convert him to a pitcher because he sucks balls as a position player. I'm still wondering why we didn't draft Granderson/Puckett/Trout, traded Chris Young for Javy or didn't name Wally Backman manager.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 10:04 AM) I've thought for about two years now that if you let Flowers play everyday, he would hit about .260 with 20-25 homeruns. We'll see. KW said exactly the same thing about Brian Anderson. I would be quite shocked by anything over .240.

Halfway through the new OZ movie. Not bad, but certainly not anything to waste money on in a theatre. Maybe the 3D version would be worth it...? And from our "hottest babes" lists, Mila Kunis looks particularly NOT hot. Could be the make-up, something's off about her in this film. Rachael Weisz actually looked better to me in this one. The main point of enjoyment so far to me is the talking monkey sidekick character.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 10:59 AM) It's going to be hilarious watching the reactions you guys have once you realize that we're still going to be run on. You all have been underrating AJ's contributions for years. Catching is the hardest position on the field to find a good player. Flowers was excellent last year throwing out runners, and Gimenez is probably even better. Except when Floyd's on the mound, this isn't a huge concern, compared to his ability to make contact and hit at at least .220/.230ish.

For that matter, NOBODY would or could have reasonably predicted that Iguchi, Dye (coming off a major injury), AJ or Pods (also coming off a downward trend and "prematurely aging" with all the pounding from his minor league stolen base numbers) would have played as they did in 2005. I just find it hard to write off Alexei Ramirez based on one season where he still drove in 70+ runs. Alphonso Soriano rebounded offensively last year and how old does everyone believe he actually is?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 08:41 PM) Where does Ozzie Smith rank on "The Shredder's" outdated list? Seriously, why am I supposed to care what this cheap thought about Alexei before last year? The same reason you would have cared before the 2012 season where Alex Rios was ranked.... Or after his bad/inconsistent 2004, where Paul Konerko was ranked coming into 2005, etc. How can we suddenly say Alexei Ramirez is done when plenty of players like AJ, Konerko and Rios have rebounded when they were the same age or much older? If anything, Alexei is the opposite of the Carlos Lee/Ordonez/Fielder/Cabrera type of body that breaks down over age more quickly. And it's not like Ramirez has been stealing 50 bags a season, like a Pods....and he's hesistant about contact and diving usually, so his body hasn't taken as much of a pounding.

Surely, it's heading into 2012. So you could push him down at least 3-5 places in the rankings. That said, right now....what players do we have in the Top Ten at their positions? DeAza in CF is probably middle ten. Rios, for most of last year, but nobody would expect a repeat. AJ, offensively...for sure. Konerko, he can't be ranked in the top ten anymore. Viciedo was MLB average for LF in terms of OPS but there's a lot of room for improvement. Keppinger, maybe if you base it solely on 2012, but not on his last three years, as he's been more of a super-utility guy.

Gameday Audio isn't live for some reason. Says there's an MLB feed, not either team's normal broadcasters.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 10:36 AM) Lineups: http://baseballpress.com/lineup.php Video: http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/video/play...96&c_id=cws Rienzo, Heath, Stewart, Omogrosso, Rodriguez, Gray scheduled to pitch. Peavy, Thornton, Jones, Lindstrom, Veal, and Reed throwing this morning in a minor league game. I wonder if the Sox are the most paranoid team about having their pitchers face division foes in spring training. It's mostly attributable to Don Cooper superstition (especially hiding our lefties). We had Gray in spring training a year or two ago and then he caught on with another team for the regular season...maybe the Mariners?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 02:21 PM) Do they wear their hats to the back? That's the best way to get a tan in the bleachers while also protecting your neck from sunburn, lol. However, it is super cool when a cute girl is wearing a Sox cap backwards or at an angle...the Korean style is with the completely straight bill and the New Era sticker still attached. The White Sox cap was definitely the most popular one there (in South Korea), or at least top 3. Japan, not as popular. Maybe the memories of Iguchi and Gong Takatsu have faded.

The opposite is true, as well. The desire to celebrate the "chicks dig the long ball," three run homers and a cloud of dust offense from say 2000-2004 and the 2008 team is out of style, too. The White Sox have always done the best when they had solid defense and Top 5 starting pitching. Period.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/19...21.html?refer=y Looks like the Minnesota Twins are really going to be a threat in 2-3 years...of course, you could have said the same about the Sox 1999-2001 prospect lists. Nice to see the Hawk and Sanchez get some pub, a bit surprised Thompson wasn't somewhere in the 100-150 range as well, as his upside is probably higher than Sanchez still.

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 08:49 PM) http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/11/en...-films-20120811 This article seems to explain this phenomenon. Our taste has gone against the star-powered comedy. Anchorman 2 will be an ultimate test of this idea. The whole ensemble thing has really taken off....think of movies like The Hangover, Avengers, Fast and the Furious, that aren't based so much on one $20+ million super salary. Even The Expendables, at least the first iteration. Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Adam Sander, Will Ferrell, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon...think of where their salaries have gone over the last decade, for the most part. Or Horrible Bosses/Identity Thief/Bridesmaids...where comedies are being driven by two or more lower-priced stars such as Jason Bateman, Kirsten Wiig and Melissa McCarthy.

IMO, Viciedo and Flowers (assuming he develops) are the only two guys in our current lineup that could be part of our long-term core (2015 and beyond). And possibly DeAza, although the odds are that Mitchell/Walker/Thompson replaces him as he becomes more expensive in arbitration...

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 07:03 PM) I think it's a question whether he can get his OPS back to 700+, he's 31. Moreover, the 2014 position player situation for the Sox could be a big problem. They could be looking at needing a new catcher, 1B, 2B, SS, not to mention being saddled with Dunn for another year. Don't forget an Alex Rios who's two years older and no longer in his prime or moveable until mid-season 2014 at best. Carlos Sanchez, right now, on the Big Board would have to be penciled into the #2 spot on the depth chart behind both Ramirez and Beckham for 2014. Obviously, that could change as early as June/July of this year. Viciedo can easily slide to 1B. That's not a big deal at all after all the defensive position changes he's gone through. STILL, as the old axiom or Royals Failure 101 goes, PITCHING PITCHING PITCHING. It's much easier to fix a line-up offensively than to address a bad starting rotation.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 06:36 PM) Personally, if Danks looks good this year, I'm sticking with a 1-2-3 of Sale-Peavy-Danks for the next two or three years and seeing where that gets me. With Floyd likely gone, we should be able to afford them with Quintana/Santiago and possibly Johnson/Snodgress/Rienzo/Castro at the backend of the rotation. Poor Molina. I guess it's a sign of some decent progress that we can at least list 4 theoretical replacements and not be including either Molina or Axelrod on it. Maybe he will perform better this year more under the radar than having the weight of the trade and expectations coming into 2012.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 06:36 PM) Personally, if Danks looks good this year, I'm sticking with a 1-2-3 of Sale-Peavy-Danks for the next two or three years and seeing where that gets me. With Floyd likely gone, we should be able to afford them with Quintana/Santiago and possibly Johnson/Snodgress/Rienzo/Castro at the backend of the rotation. If we're actually trading Ramirez, then getting cost savings by putting Santiago into the rotation for Danks would also make sense. In that case, you're pretty much resigned to also jettisoning Thornton, Crain and looking to move DeAza, Rios, Dunn and Konerko if you can get anything of value back (or just simply cost savings in the case of all those players except for DeAza and Konerko, and also co-dependent on the continued progress of Thompson/Mitchell/Walker/Hawkins). Keppinger's a nice veteran "glue" utility player who would seem to fit even if we went into that drastic rebuilding mode because you always need to have some veterans to teach the young infield prospects how to play the game right, kind of like a younger Omar Vizquel role.

We can talk about "opportunity cost" all we want right now...investing the $27 million of theoretical savings into signing DR talent and Venezuelans and Asians, BUT.... what's the cost of 1) punting on the season and White Flagging it by trading Ramirez and plugging in someone who's not yet ready and will definitely struggle and, 2) messing up Sanchez's natural development in the first place and possibly destroying him as a prospect 3) putting even more pressure on Keppinger and Beckham defensively 4) making Peavy on this roster pointless and a waste of money, since we DEFINITELY won't win the AL Central in 2013 with just any random player at SS? 5) back to point 1, what god-awful attendance and revenue numbers would result if the FO takes that position?